Anaxandrides

For the Spartan kings, see Anaxandridas I and Anaxandridas II.
Anaxandrides (Greek: Ἀναξανδρίδης), was an Athenian Middle Comic poet. He was victorious ten times (test. 1. 3), first in 376, according to the Marmor Parium (FGrHist 239 A 70 = test. 3). Inscriptional evidence shows that three of his victories came at the Lenaia (IG II2 2325. 142), so the other seven must have been at the City Dionysia, including in 375 (IG II2 2318. 241), when he also took third at the Lenaia (IG Urb. Rom. 218. 5). A substantial fragment of his complete competitive record survives in IG Urb. Rom. 218. He wrote 65 plays (test. 1. 3), and his career continued into the early 340s (IG Urb. Rom. 218. 8; fourth at the City Dionysia in 349 with either Rustics or Anchises). He was probably from the city of Camirus on Rhodes (test. 1. 1; 2. 9), although the Suda (test. 1. 2–3) reports that "according to some authorities" he was from Colophon. The Suda (test. 1. 3–4) also reports that Anaxandrides was "the first to introduce love-affairs and rapes of girls" (sc. to the comic stage).

82 fragments (including two dubia) of his comedies survive, along with 41 titles.

The standard edition of the testimonia and fragments is Kassel-Austin, Poetae Comici Graeci II ; Kock numbers are now outdated and should not be used. A University of Illinois dissertation on Anaxandrides was completed by Benjamin Millis, but has not been published.